A New Generation, A New Beginning
by elite4james
Summary: With the defeat of their son in the Indigo League Tournament, Ash and May decide to teach him about the importance of defeat, the power of love, courage and friendship. One Shot maybe two , major Advanceshipping w/Pikeshipping and Cavaliershipping. R&R.


'Sceptile! Solar Beam Attack! FIRE!' Samuel Oak exclaimed. The Forest Pokemon opened its mouth and fired off a bright white beam of light at its opponent. 

'Charizard! Flamethrower!!' Alex Ketchum cried. The winged Flame Pokemon unleashed a jet of flame from its mouth. The two attacks collided head on and a large explosion enveloped the battlefield. All spectators in the Indigo Stadium covered their eyes as smoke and dust blew in all directions.

Alex's two traveling companions watched very close to the arena. 'I can barely see!' Kira Oak said to Locke from the sidelines. She covered Alex's Eevee's eyes as well to shield it from the dust.

'We'll have to wait until the dust settles!' Locke replied, remembering situations similar to this, with the matches his father and mother, Brock and Lucy, had themselves. It also reminded him of the rivalry between his elder brother and sister, Rocky and Layla.

_'Alex…Brother…'_ Kira thought to herself, she was torn throughout the match with who she wanted to support. She wanted her big brother Samuel to win, but she didn't want her friend Alex to lose. She knew her father, Gary and mother Dawn were watching this match as well.

In the stands four others covered their eyes and waited for the dust to settle. Identical twin girls sat on either side of their parents, together the four of them had cheered Alex on throughout his entire time in the Indigo League Tournament. The girls looked like their mother, with long brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. Both girls' hair was messy at the back, similar to their father.

'Mommy, I can't see!' Mya called out to her mother.

'It's all right honey. The dust should settle soon.' May said to her young daughter.

'Will Charizard be okay, Daddy?' Amy asked her father.

'…I wonder…' Ash said, partially to himself. He simply held his little girl closer to reassure her, but he had seen many battles like this one before. He knew what the outcome would be.

The dust settled. Samuel Oak looked across the battle ground; he could make out the silhouette of his young neighbor, Alex Ketchum. Alex looked just like his father; he had the same piercing brown eyes. His eyes showed an unwavering determination in them, he never backed down. He never quit. Unlike his father however, Alex had brown hair, similar to his mother, though it was messy and styled similar to his father's.

Samuel, had blue hair like his mother, but it was spiky like his father's, he rubbed his blue eyes to clear them of dust, he blinked and could make out another shape in the dust and smoke. It was undoubtedly Alex's Charizard.

Samuel's Sceptile was his first Pokemon and was his strongest. Despite its type weakness to Alex's Charizard, Sceptile had managed to survive this long. It was visibly tired,

Samuel clenched his fists. _'Hang on Sceptile…'_ He thought. Charizard was panting, despite Sceptile being a Grass type Pokemon; it really packed a wallop against the dual Fire and Flying Type.

The dust finally settled and the two Pokemon and their trainers were visible again. Sceptile panted, Charizard also panted. Suddenly time appeared to slow down as both Pokemon fell.

Sceptile fell back onto its rear, it was tired, but it was still conscious, panting away in exhaustion. Charizard fell forward onto its stomach and fainted. The battle was too much for it. It had lost.

'Charizard is unable to battle! Sceptile wins!' The referee exclaimed holding up a green flag, 'The winner is the trainer in the green corner, Samuel Oak!'

'Samuel won!' Kira thought to herself, suddenly something else crept into her mind, Alex had lost. 'Oh no…' Kira realized, 'Oh…Alex.'

'Uiiii…' Eevee said in sadness.

'You did your best Alex…' Locke said sadly.

'Oh poor Alex …' May said sadly.

'What happened? Did Alex lose?' Amy asked her father.

'…Yeah…It's over, sweetheart.' Ash said. He hugged her closely as she looked sadly at her brother. Mya had tears in her eyes as she cuddled her mother. She had been hoping her big brother would get further in the tournament.

Ash looked at his son. Alex recalled Charizard to its poke ball and simply stood there solemn. His eyes were shielded from view, but Ash knew there were probably tears. He began to see a lot of himself in his son. This was how he had reacted to his defeat the first time he entered the Indigo League.

Samuel on the other hand recalled his Sceptile and thanked it for its hard work. He looked at Alex and wanted to go and shake his hand. However Alex had turned around and walked away.

'Alex…' Samuel said with a sympathetic look on his face.

-----------------------

'He put up a good fight. He should be proud of his efforts.' Professor Gary Oak said.

'It was an amazing battle, even though they're three years different in age, Alex proved he was capable.' Dawn Oak said, 'Where did he go?'

'I'm guessing he's in the locker room.' Ash said, 'I'm going to just check on him.'

'I'm coming too.' May said as she clasped her husband's hand. Together the Ketchums went off to find their son.

Dawn bent down to talk to Ash and May's daughters. Mya was still teary about her brother's defeat. Amy was rubbing her twin on the back and trying to console her. Amy was sad too, but she held in her tears for Mya's sake.

Dawn put her hands on the girls' shoulders, 'How about we take you two for some ice cream while we wait for your brother?' She said with a smile.

'Okay.' Mya said with a sniffle.

'Okay then.' Gary said, 'Let's go.'

The girls held hands as they walked off with Professor Oak and his wife.

'Mom! Daddy!' Kira called out. She was accompanied by Locke and Alex's Eevee.

'Hello sweetie.' Dawn called to her daughter. They had the same blue hair and eyes. Kira was just like her when she was younger, though she had a lot of her father's personality in her too.

'Where's Samuel? I was hoping we could congratulate him.' Gary asked.

'He's talking to some officials; they're preparing him for the next rounds.' Locke replied, running his hands through his black hair, the streaks of red in his hair reminiscent of his mother. His red eyes still carried worry in them, about Alex and his defeat but that changed when Kira spoke.

'Hey you two!' Kira said with a smile to Amy and Mya, 'Aren't you proud of how well your big brother did today?'

'Yeah… but he lost to _your_ big brother…' Amy said.

'Well yeah, my brother is really good! He's been a trainer for three years!' Kira said, 'But did you see how tired his Sceptile was? That shows you just how strong Alex and Charizard have become!'

'Yeah! Alex and Charizard were really strong!' Amy said.

'All of Alex's Pokemon were!' Mya added.

'Uiiii!' Alex's Eevee chimed in.

'Right! So don't be sad!' Kira said, 'Because they did their best! No need to worry!'

'Yeah, it's not the outcome but rather how good the match was that matters!' Locke added realizing he had nothing to worry about.

The twins smiled, they were in good company now and felt a lot better about Alex's defeat.

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Alex sat on the bench with his head over his knees. He released the Pokemon he used against Samuel, and they were gathered around him. Charizard, Mightyena, Heracross, Elekid, Chikorita and Mudkip looked at their trainer, they were disappointed in themselves. They felt they had failed him.

Ash and May could hear sobbing outside the locker room. May recognized it immediately. It was Alex.

The entered quietly and peered from around a corner to see their son with his Pokemon. He was talking to them and they were listening to his words. 'You guys were so good out there.' He began, 'The way you gave it your all. I couldn't be more proud of you.'

Unbeknownst to him, his parents watched as he continued to speak to them.

'But as for me…I've failed you as a trainer…' He said holding back his sobs, 'I'm…I'm so sorry…'

He began to cry as he thought about how he failed.

'Oh my baby…' May said as she tried to approach Alex. She felt a soft grip on her arm preventing her from going forward.

Ash held her back, 'Wait May…' May stopped and watched with Ash.

Alex got up and held out his fist towards his Pokemon, 'But I promise to all of you, that I will become a better trainer. That I will work as hard as you guys have.' Alex said, he choked a bit on his words, but kept strong, 'We will become stronger together. I promise.'

Ash and May looked at each other and smiled. May looked at her husband adoringly, 'He gets that from you, you know?'

'I don't know about that…You've been known to make speeches like that before.' Ash said with a wink.

'Do you want to talk to him at all?' May asked Ash.

Ash looked at his son, now laughing and hugging his Pokemon, 'No…Not yet…I think he'll be fine for now.'

A tear rolled down May's cheek, 'I'm so proud of him.' She said.

Ash stroked his wife's face, wiping away her tears, 'Me too.'

-----------------------

The tournament had ended for Alex and a quiet journey back to Pallet Town ensued. Night had fallen. Raichu, Ash's first Pokemon, greeted the Ketchum family upon their return.

'Raichuuu!' Raichu said merrily.

'Raichu!' Mya and Amy exclaimed, they held Raichu's paws and danced around with him, before being stopped by their father.  
'Hold on now…It's getting pretty late. I think you two should go to bed.' He said.

'Awww!' The twins protested.

'But we're not sleepy!' Amy exclaimed.

'Oh okay…' Ash said, 'And I was going to go to Professor Oak's to see if I could get a Pokemon each for you to keep until you were old enough to go on your Pokemon journeys… But if you can't get up in the morning I guess I'll just have to forget all about it…' He walked away from his two girls.

The twins' faces were in shock, _'Daddy was going to get us our own Pokemon?!'_

'Now what will I do?' Ash said with a smile hidden from their view.

'Well…okay Daddy.' Amy said, 'We'll go to bed.'

'Yeah!' Mya added, 'But Daddy can you tell us a story?'

'A story?' Ash said with a puzzled look _'Are they trying to bargain with me?'_

'Yeah! The Jirachi one!' Amy said.

'No! The Manaphy story!' Mya said.

'All right, all right. If I tell you the stories will you settle down and go to sleep?' Ash asked them. He looked at his daughters, they were like mini-Mays; their smiles were just like hers.

'Can you tell the stories in the usual place, Daddy?' Amy asked.

'Out there? Well, all right…' Ash said. He always found it hard to say no to his daughters.

------------------

Alex sat on the back porch of the house with Eevee, the thoughts of the tournament now far behind him. May walked past the back door and noticed her boy looking up into the night sky.

It was a clear night amongst the stars in Pallet Town. May recognized the night all too well, it was very similar to the night she walked home with Ash and they kissed under the stars. Ash was not around to stop her this time, not that he wasn't right to stop her the first time, but her motherly instincts told her to go to him and see that he was okay.

'Hey…' May said to him, 'Can I sit with you?'

'Hey Mom.' Alex said, 'It's okay.'

She sat down and sidled up next to him. Alex was still quiet and did not initiate any further conversation. May looked at him, she smiled, even though he looked a lot like his father, how he was acting right now was the same as how she used to act when she lost contests.

'You know, Alex, honey, I was so proud of you today.' May said, 'You were unbelievable out there.'

'Thanks Mom, but I didn't really do much. It was my Pokemon who really deserve the credit. I…' Alex took a deep breath, 'I failed them as a trainer today.'

'Is that what you think?' May asked, 'Sweetie, why do you think your Pokemon fought so hard and did so well out there in the tournament?'

Alex didn't know what to say to that, he thought about it for a moment then answered his mother. She was looking right at him, 'I…I guess because they wanted to prove their power. They wanted to win, they want to become strong.'

May put her arm around his shoulder and shook her head. She smiled and spoke softly, 'No, Alex, that's not why they fought so hard.'

'Huh?' Alex said, speechless.

'Honey, Pokemon who think like that, would not even bother to listen to their trainers. If all they cared about was winning and being strong, then they would ignore their trainers and simply do as they please.'

May looked up at the stars; it was a celestial sea of interstellar wonder. It was beautiful, then she looked at Alex, her first child, no matter how big he got or how far away he traveled from home, she still saw him as her beautiful baby boy.

'Alex, your Pokemon fought for _you_. They did their best, _for you_. Because they believe _you're_ a trainer worth fighting for, they believe that _you_ are a good friend and a good trainer. If they didn't, they would not obey you at all in battle.' May explained.

'Uii!' Eevee said in agreement.

Alex's eyes welled up, he had been so stupid.

'Honey, one of the biggest strengths we have, whether as trainers or coordinators are our Pokemon, our friends and our family.' May continued, 'Without them, it becomes so hard to do what we do. I thought it was all up to me as well. I thought that I had failed too.'

Alex looked up at his mother, she had a tear rolling down her cheek, but she was smiling.

'When I first became a coordinator, I was so scared. I was scared of your grandfather, of what he might have thought that I wasn't going to take over the Petalburg Gym and his reaction to my choice. I was afraid that I might not succeed at all and make things worse with him. But there was someone who believed in me, and…well he never stopped believing in me, even when I had given up on myself.'

'Really? Who was it Mom?' Alex asked.

'Your father of course…' May said, the smile did not disappear from her face when she said that, 'You know, when I lost, he felt like he had failed me! Even though I was the one who lost. I was ready to give it all up and go home, but he stopped me. He told me he believed in me and that I could do it. When I looked at how hard my Pokemon were trying, I realized they were doing it for me and that they had faith in my ability as well.' Alex sat there silently; however he was simply taking in every word his mother said.

May put her arm around his shoulder, 'What I guess I'm trying to point out sweetheart, is that our Pokemon work and live and travel with us because they _believe_ in us. They listen to us because they know that they will be able to be the best they can be through us. And, to be honest with you Alex, I don't think their faith in you is misplaced.'

Alex smiled, 'Thanks Mom.'

May cuddled her son, 'You'll be fine, my baby.'

'M-mom!' Alex said awkwardly, 'I'm not a baby!'

May smiled, 'You know, when you were a baby, you cried a lot. I used to rock you in my arms, and I would always say the same thing to you when I did.'

'What was that?' Alex asked.

'I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.' She said. May kissed him on the forehead, 'Don't stay up too late sweetheart.' With that she left him to think about what she had said.

------------------------------

'And then Mom said goodbye to Manaphy and it swam deep into the sea, where it protected the Temple.' Ash said.

'I wish I could see a Manaphy.' Amy said.

'Me too.' Mya said in agreement.

'Maybe you will someday…' Ash said, 'If you two decide to travel, who knows what amazing Pokemon you'll meet.'

Amy and Mya were sitting on their father's knees. Ash leaned against a solid tree. The three of them looked up at the sky into the stars.

'Daddy?' Mya asked.

'Yessy?' Ash said in a playful tone.

Mya giggled when her Dad talked like that, 'Are there Pokemon on the moon?'

'Well…I don't know. I've never been on the moon.' Ash said with a smile.

'But someone has to know!' Mya said desperately.

'I'm sure someone does!' Ash said, 'You know Cleffa and Clefairy and Clefable?'

'Yeah?' The twins said in unison.

'Some people think that they came from the moon.'

'Wow. I wonder how they got here.' Mya wondered.

'Yeah… It's pretty far away.' Amy added.

The father and his two daughters lay down silently as they looked at the stars.

'Daddy, do other Pokemon come from the moon?'

Ash laughed, 'Why don't you ask Torterra if he came from there?'

Amy got up and crawled along to talk to her father's Torterra. The three liked to sit on Torterra's back as they gazed at the stars. Ash's Torterra didn't mind at all. Usually this was where Ash would tell his girls stories about his adventures and Torterra enjoyed hearing them, especially when he was in them. Ash used to do the same with Alex before he began having adventures of his own.

'I was just kidding silly!' Ash said as he grabbed his girl and pulled him towards her. 'Come here you!' He said as he began to tickle her. Amy giggled as Ash tickled her. Mya joined in and tried to help her sister tickle her father back, but Ash managed to pull Mya off his back and pinned them both to Torterra's back. He tickled them more as they laughed.

'Ahahaha! Daddy stop!' Mya laughed.

'N-no more! Ahahaha!' Amy managed to utter as she giggled.

The ground beneath them began to shake. 'Whoa!' Ash said as he held his girls tight so they didn't fall. Torterra had begun to laugh uncontrollably; apparently all the squirming and tickling had made him ticklish too.

'Torterra is ticklish too, Daddy!' Amy said.

'Yeah…well, we better head back. We have a big day tomorrow!' Ash said laughing.

'Awwww.' The twins said.

He helped them off of Torterra's back and they held his hands. Torterra trundled off as Ash and his two girls walked towards the house.

------------------------------------

'So you're going to get Pokemon tomorrow.' May said as she tucked her girls into their beds. Their bedroom was filled with cute Pokemon plushies and dolls 'Are you excited?'

May asked them. The girls still had a few years until they became ten years old, but Ash and May wanted them to bond with their starter Pokemon early.

'I want a Torchic just like you Mommy!' Mya said. 'And we'll become Contest Champions!'

'Really?' May said, 'You know Torchics are hard work to train and raise.' She began to remember how hard she found it to train her Blaziken back when it was just a Torchic, she was just starting out as a trainer, so it was tough. Fortunately she had Ash to help her when she needed it. 'I'm sure you'll do fine!' May assured her.

She turned to her other daughter, 'And what about you, Sweetie?' May asked Amy.

'I want a Chimchar!' Amy said.

'A Chimchar?' May said surprised, 'Why?'

'Cos I think Daddy's Infernape is sooooo cooool!' Amy said as she sat up in her bed. 'The way he beat that mean trainer and his Torterra! Bam!' She jumped up on the bed imitating a Mach Punch and the sheets came undone. May let out a sigh but smiled, then settled her daughter down for bed.

'Well that's a good match! A monkey Pokemon for a little monkey I suppose!' May said with a chuckle.

Amy laughed as her mother tucked her back into bed.

'Now, lights out girls. Sweet dreams!' May said.

'Good night Mommy!' The twins said in unison.

'Good night my babies.' May said softly.

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Alex looked at around the living room of his home. He saw several display cases on the walls. They were the achievements of his parents. His father had Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh region badges. He also had several other badges from other regions too.

He saw his father's Orange League Championship Cup and his seven Frontier Symbols as well. His mother had her fair share of ribbons, from several Grand Festivals. She even had a number of Championship cups.

The most prominent Ribbon however was a ribbon that had looked as though it had been welded together. Alex knew this ribbon was very important to his parents. It was the one his parents had won together. From what he remembered, the story went that his parents cut the ribbon in half when they traveled their separate ways and welded it back together when they married.

'Hey…' A voice said.

Alex turned around, it was his father. He was smiling that absent minded smile he's known all his life. 'Hey Dad.' He said.

'Whatcha lookin' at?' Ash asked.

'Just all the achievements you and Mom have won…' Alex said.

'These things?' Ash said, 'Do you know why your Mom and I display these?'

'No…why?'

'These are very important reminders, Alex. They remind me every day of the hardship and effort I put into all my training.'

'You've won a lot of badges Dad.'

'Less than you think, Alex.' Ash said, 'You know I didn't win my matches to earn most of my Kanto Badges.'

'Really?'

'There are more important things involved in Pokemon training than being strong and winning battles, son.' Ash said, 'In battle, we show our true colors. We show what we are capable of as human beings. Our inner strengths shine.'

Alex looked at the photographs that adorned the walls; they were pictures of his parents with their Pokemon and other friends. These were testaments to the journeys his parents made and how they came to be powerful trainers.

'You did so well in that battle Alex. With more experience, you'll only improve.' Ash said.

'Yeah, but I still lost.' Alex said.

'So what?' Ash said, 'Did you see what mistakes you made during the match?'

'Yes.' Alex replied.

'Did you see what mistakes Samuel made?' Ash asked.

Alex thought about it a little and realized that Samuel made mistakes as well, 'Yes, I did!'

'Then there you go. That is why we mustn't think of defeat as proof of our lack of skill or ability. It is a lesson. Defeat can be dealt with in one of two ways, you can either let it consume you and run away from your problems. Or you can confront your weaknesses, learn from your mistakes and turn them into your strengths.'

'I guess so.' Alex said.

'Alex, son, remember that you never ever stop learning. Never ever.' Ash said, 'The moment you forget that, you lose the understanding of the true meaning of Pokemon battles; improvement, for both human and Pokemon alike.'

Ash held out a wrapped gift for Alex and spoke closer to him, he put his arms on his son's shoulders as he spoke, 'Alex, you proved not only to me, but to everyone else who watched you today, that you have the strength and the courage to become truly great. The bond you share with your Pokemon is strong, and if you continue the way you do, you will only become stronger. This is for you.'

Alex opened the gift. It was a display case that had all eight of his Kanto Gym Badges.

'Why don't we put it on the wall?' Ash suggested.

Alex smiled, 'Thanks Dad.'

The two Ketchum men fixed the display case to the wall, right next to a picture of Alex and Kira Oak with their two starter Pokemon, Charmander and Piplup. Seeing the photograph and the display case together, Alex was reminded of the adventures he shared and how far he had come.

Ash pat his son on the back, 'Tomorrow I can help you with some training if you like.' he said as he left the room to go to sleep.

'Okay!' Alex replied. He looked at another photograph. It was of his father and mother when they were children, roughly his age. They held one half of a ribbon each and were smiling, in the background behind them were his Dad's Sceptile and his Mom's Blaziken and in front was his Dad's Pikachu.

'Thanks Mom…Thanks Dad…I know now that this is all a part of my journey. I know now that this is just the first step towards fulfilling my own dream.' Alex thought with a smile. Alex's Eevee approached him and tilted his head as if to look at Alex in curiosity.

'Uiii?' Eevee said.

'Well Eevee…Tomorrow we have a lot of thinking to do.' Alex said to the Evolution Pokemon, 'After all, we need to think about how we can become better and better!'

'UiiiiUiiii!' Eevee said in approval.

---------------------------

It was late now and all three Ketchum children had fallen asleep. Alex slept much like his father, sprawled out on the bed with a leg hanging out of the sheets. Eevee had curled up in the corner of the bed and was sleeping soundly.

Amy slept in a similar manner to her elder brother, though nowhere near as sprawled out. She also had a tendency to talk in her sleep. She was dreaming about owning her own Chimchar and was telling it to do a 'Super Lovely Amy Special Attack'.

Her twin, Mya slept like May, curled up into a ball like a Skitty. She always looked so peaceful when she slept and was used to her sister's sleep talking. She dreamed of the amazing contests and using her Torchic like her mother did as a young girl.

Ash sat up in bed and was skimming through a small booklet; it was the program for the Indigo League Tournament that Alex had participated in. Ash smiled, 'There's always next time…'

'Next time for what?' May said from the adjoining bathroom, she emerged from it in a beautiful black night gown. She leaned against the doorway and lifted her leg, exposing her thigh and smiled coyly at Ash.

Ash's jaw dropped as he looked at his wife, '…Wow…' he said.

'You like?' May said as she twirled around in it.

'I like!' Ash said, 'Where'd you get that?'

'Before the tournament at a shop in Viridian City.' May said.

'You look amazing.' Ash said.

'Why thank you darling.' May said as she slid into bed next to her husband, 'I really should wear it for a special occasion though, like our anniversary or something.'

'Let's make it an early birthday present.' Ash said.

'But my birthday has passed.' May said.

'I meant for my birthday.' Ash said with a smile, he kissed her on the lips and May returned the affection with another kiss.

'We have such good children…' May said, 'I'm so happy that Alex is more positive now.'

'Yeah…' Ash said, 'You know what?'

'What?' May asked, she had now cuddled up to Ash.

'I think we've done a good job as parents.' Ash said.

'Yeah…not bad, Mr. Ketchum.' May said coyly.

'You too, Mrs. Ketchum.' Ash said.

'Turn out the lights.' May said. Ash turned off his bedside light and lay awake. May had already shut her eyes and was beginning to doze off peacefully on her husband's chest.

She felt so comfortable and warm, Ash smiled as this amazing, beautiful and wonderful woman slept at his side. They had been married for nearly thirteen years and she had mothered three amazing children. He knew one day he would make a good father, but May was already a good mother even before the children were born.

'May, honey?' Ash said softly.

'Mmm?' She said drowsily.

'I love you.' He said.

'I love you, Ash.' She said back as she nuzzled closer and drifted off into sleep again.

Ash looked out of the window into the night sky, _'All my life, I dreamed of only becoming a Pokemon Master. It was the most important thing in the world to me. I thought of nothing else, I dreamt of nothing else.'_ Ash thought. He looked down at May, sleeping peacefully against him, _'But I know now, there are much more important things to me now. My life changed when I met you, May. My life changed when we had our kids.'_

Ash closed his eyes and smiled, his head leaned against May's and he began to doze off, _'I don't say it enough, but to have you in my life, I am grateful. Thank you.'_

_**Fin**_


End file.
